Though the MCC paid tribute to Rachel Heyhoe Flint, one of the pioneers of women\u2019s cricket, by renaming the Eastern Gate after her, Lord\u2019s had never hosted a Women\u2019s Test match. The wait of 239 years was finally over for the women in white.<\/p>\n
You could see it on the faces of the 50-odd former England women cricketers who were given the honour of ringing the five-minute bell. You could also see it on the faces of the female cricket fans who queued up outside Lord\u2019s well before the first ball of the first Women\u2019s Test was bowled.<\/p>\n
And Lord\u2019s was ready for the momentous occasion, the historic Test between England and India. It was scheduled to get underway just five days after the final of the Women\u2019s T20 World Cup.<\/p>\n
The Englishwomen had played that final against Australia and were soundly beaten. They had just a few days to recover and prepare for the completely different demands of Test cricket, a format unfamiliar to many of the younger players. Meanwhile, a defeat to Australia in its final group match had already ended India\u2019s hopes of reaching the semifinals. That meant Harmanpreet Kaur\u2019s women could take a breather and focus on Test cricket. It seemed they were better off because of that. India outplayed England in every aspect of the game.<\/p>\n
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Working in tandem: Smriti Mandhana laid the foundation with a fluent 80 in the first innings before Yastika Bhatia\u2019s superb century tightened India\u2019s grip on the historic Women\u2019s Test at Lord\u2019s.
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\n AFP\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After being put into bat, India made 285 in the first innings, riding on fifties from Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet and Deepti Sharma. The Indian batters punished the undisciplined England attack.<\/p>\n
That total seemed even bigger than it actually was, thanks to a superb spell of pace bowling from Kranti Gaud. She bowled with good pace and got her line and length right. She attacked the stumps relentlessly and was rewarded with a five-wicket haul. She has come a long way in a short time and promises a lot more.<\/p>\n
Kranti was well supported by the other Indian bowlers. Amy Jones was the only England batter who looked comfortable. But for her counterattacking 52 off 62 balls, the host would have been in even deeper trouble.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Historic haul: Kranti Gaud became the first woman to earn a place on the Lord\u2019s Test honours board, her incisive spell of 5 for 37 exposing England\u2019s batting with relentless accuracy.
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\n Reuters\n <\/p>\n
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Historic haul: Kranti Gaud became the first woman to earn a place on the Lord\u2019s Test honours board, her incisive spell of 5 for 37 exposing England\u2019s batting with relentless accuracy.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Reuters\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Because of those five wickets, Kranti became the first woman to make it to the Lord\u2019s honours boards for Tests. Before long, she was joined by her teammate Yastika Bhatia, who made a brilliant hundred to help India move into a commanding position. She thoroughly deserved to become the first female batter to make it to the board.<\/p>\n
Yastika\u2019s performance was all the more remarkable because she was returning from an ACL injury that had kept her out of the ODI World Cup. She also kept wickets throughout the match. Richa Ghosh, who gave up the gloves, took a stunning reflex catch in the second innings.<\/p>\n
Richa shone with the bat, too. She hit a quickfire unbeaten 50 to help India declare in the second session on the third day. Sophie Ecclestone gave England something to cheer about as she picked up five wickets and earned the right to have her name on the honours board.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s declaration left England to negotiate a long, difficult final session against a sharp Indian attack riding high on confidence.<\/p>\n
Kranti impressed yet again. Her new-ball partner, Sayali Satghare, also bowled well as they removed both England openers inside the first three overs.<\/p>\n
Kranti had accounted for Tammy Beaumont, who fell for a golden duck in her final Test innings. Beaumont had announced her retirement from international cricket a couple of days earlier and broke down during the ensuing press conference, but recovered quickly enough to crack jokes.<\/p>\n
Then, midway through the match, Heather Knight also announced that she would not play for England again. She had led England to the ODI World Cup title in 2017 at the same venue. Lord\u2019s is her favourite ground. She could at least take solace in returning to Lord\u2019s as general manager of the London Spirit franchise.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Calling it a day: A landmark Test also became a farewell. Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight ended their international journeys at Lord\u2019s after years of defining England\u2019s success across formats.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Reuters\n <\/p>\n
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Calling it a day: A landmark Test also became a farewell. Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight ended their international journeys at Lord\u2019s after years of defining England\u2019s success across formats.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Reuters\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
England may not find it easy to replace Beaumont and Knight, who, between them, scored more than 15,000 runs for England. Their careers also spanned the game\u2019s remarkable transformation, allowing them to witness and benefit from its growing stature.<\/p>\n
The MCC, which had resisted women\u2019s membership for so long, threw its weight behind promoting the Women\u2019s Test. There was an attractive campaign centred around Knight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first Women\u2019s Test at Lord\u2019s was a major priority for MCC, and we invested significantly in marketing the occasion to attract a broad and diverse audience while celebrating this historic moment for the game,\u201d MCC\u2019s Chief Marketing Officer Katie Maier told Sportstar<\/i>. \u201cThe response has been phenomenal, exceeding sales expectations since launch and helping to deliver a new world-record attendance for a Women\u2019s Test match. Heather\u2019s retirement at the conclusion of the Test has added even greater poignancy to the occasion, marking such a special and significant moment in her remarkable career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knight, however, could not produce the rescue act she had performed for England on so many occasions in the past. She was out for 13 in her final Test innings.<\/p>\n
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